When addressing a former President of the United States in a formal setting, the correct form is “Mr. LastName.” (“President LastName” or “Mr. President” are terms reserved for the current head of state.) This is true for other ex-officials, as well. When talking about the person to a third party, on the other hand, it’s appropriate to say, “former President LastName.” This holds for introductions, as well: A current state governor is introduced as “Governor Tom Smith,” while you’d introduce an ex-governor as “former Governor Jim Bell.”
When sending letters to former Presidents, the proper form for addressing the envelope is:
The Honorable (President’s name)
The proper form for the salutation in the letter is:
Dear Mr. (President’s last name)
But I vaguely remember military training suggesting that using President Name was a correct term when referring to former presidents. Possibly not though, and I didn’t work in protocol, so the state department seems like a pretty good resource.
Emily Post says:
And from an embassy’s official page:
But I vaguely remember military training suggesting that using President Name was a correct term when referring to former presidents. Possibly not though, and I didn’t work in protocol, so the state department seems like a pretty good resource.
It reads to me like they’re just avoiding repeating “former” over and over. It’s already established it’s the former president earlier in the text.